Lots of battery corrosion- HELP!

[teksavy]

Hi:

I'm hoping the folks here could help me solve my problem.

Ever since I have had my toy hauler, I have had problems with battery terminal corrision. I assume this was being caused by outgassing from my two deep cycle interstate 6v batteries wired in series.

I used to keep my RV plugged into a 110V outlet to keep the batteries topped up with the internal charger/inverter built into the RV.

After talking to my local battery supplier he suggested the batteries are being over charged by the internal charger and I should purchase a NOCO Genius G3500 "Smart charger" since it will turn completely off and float charge to keep from overcharging the batteries.

Well the picture below is the result of having this charger on my batteries for 6 months. Note the completely eaten away battery charger clips.



How do I prevent this and how do I properly keep my batteries maintained?

Thank you!

-Ed

[DSchmidt_2000]

I have this problem with both my car and the wife's. No overcharge problem with either car - for me it's the construction of the vents.
Read on this board about putting mineral oil in the cells. Did my car over a year ago and the battery is spotlessly clean. Just did the same to the wife's car's battery a few months ago.

[down_home]

You may have bad cells in one battery. the charger keeps pmping away because those cells say they aren't charged.
2 The settings, on the charger are too high and or is not switching to float when the charge is complete.
Start from scratch. Check the batteries specific gravities. Have the batteries tested on what was called carbon leak down for bad cells or the whole battery. Replace if neccessary.
lean the whole fess up. Hose out the compartment and get all of any residue out use soda and water for a final flush and let sit and flush again and dry really good. Clean or replace connectors and clamps. Get dialetric compound and some spray battery corrosion preventer and felt washers treat the washers connect the connectrs on clean posts or bolts and nuts cat with corossion preventer. Put diaelectric compound on all connections away from the batteries, after cleaning. Run the generator to charge the baatteries and when the gauge says 14.7 or whatever you manual says. That will take a long while. when the gauge say 24.7 or whatever the manual says you caan run the equalizer or desulfating setting with the doors open on the bay. Watch for too much heat or swelling. If the controller is working right it will shut off and go to float after however long. All the batteries should be equal and one won't discharge the others provide one of them is far gone. Did I leave any step out?

[jake2250]

teksavy, Glad to hear they are helping, I got my first 3500 from a friend that's is in commercial battery sales, he uses a 12 bank Genius at home, he tops off batteries before delivery.

I was so impressed with my first 3500 I bought a second and have been happy.
The clips do seem to be the weak link though.
Good luck on your battery issue!!

[teksavy]

Yes I have contacted NOCO (the makers of the Genius).

They graciously are sending new clamps.

They mentioned that their charger is not the cause of the corrosion and suggested that I clean and lube the connections.

Based on feedback here, I'm pretty certain that the batteries are on their last legs and I'm replacing them with two GC-2 batteries from Costco.

-Ed

jake2250 wrote:
OP, Have you contacted GENIUS? They are a good company and should help you, I have two maintainers just like the one you have.
One of my clips broke and they sent me a new set no charge.
I have not had a single issue with my Genius 3500.
I am using them on a pair of GC 6 volt batteries and on my Group 29 12v trolling motor.
I do check my batteries while on the chargers once a week to ensure they are doing good and are happy!!

[jake2250]

OP, Have you contacted GENIUS? They are a good company and should help you, I have two maintainers just like the one you have.
One of my clips broke and they sent me a new set no charge.
I have not had a single issue with my Genius 3500.
I am using them on a pair of GC 6 volt batteries and on my Group 29 12v trolling motor.
I do check my batteries while on the chargers once a week to ensure they are doing good and are happy!!

[teksavy]

Again, thank you for all of the helpful and informative replies. It is sincerely appreciated.

I have chosen to replace the batteries and start fresh. I'll keep everyone posted.

-Ed

[time2roll]

What is the battery float voltage? s/b 13.2 to 13.5 volts. Lower in summer, higher in winter.
How full is the water level? s/b 1/4" to 1/8" below the split ring. If just touching the split ring is absolute max and may still push some acid out.
How old are the batteries? Older batteries gas more.
How are you cleaning the terminals? What are you using to protect the terminals from corrosion after reassembly?

[MrWizard]

Very bad corrosion at the battery terminal, can be caused by a broken seal at the post
Corrosive vapor it's coming up around the post
You can clean this really well and try using a urethane based caulking around the post or you can replace the batteries

[full_mosey]

2oldman wrote:

teksavy wrote:
I was thinking I would get a new AGM battery setup, but I have read a lot of mixed reviews.d

I have agms in my tv and RV. Love 'em. If you want to get rid of maintenance and corrosion, get some.

X2.

There are very few around here with AGM that have any complaints.

I switched to 100% AGM in Jan 2009 and I won't go back. I even use AGM in the van.

Details are in my profile.

HTH;
John

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Here goes with a totally different take on your problem with a totally different solution...

1. Brand new GC batteries should have a float voltage of around 13.4 @ 25c

2. Four year old GC batteries require .1 to .2 volt less.

The OVERWHEMING majority of terminal corrosion issues from the sealing joint between the battery lid and the lead post connector that sticks up through the lid. The corrosion is not liquid, it is GAS, that's how it can pass what looks to be a pretty tight seal.

With round post connectors like a car battery the problem is cured by slipping a pair of corrosion inhibitor saturated felt ring pads down the post to act as a gasket before the battery lug or clamp is applied (Then the lug gets sprayed).

In your case (and a lot of others) the odd configuration of the post makes it impossible to fit a ring shaped felt pad gasket.

So a different approach is needed.

Go to the auto parts store and purchase a spay can of ASPHALT BASE UNDERCOATING.

Remove the batteries. Wash them with lots of baking soda and water. Then wash the battery tray and battery hold down apparatus similarly - with lots of water mixed with baking soda.

Let everything dry thoroughly. This will take a hour normally but 22 seconds in a hot Texas summer sun.

With care, shake and mix up the aerosol can. Spray the base of the battery posts and don't spare the horsepower. Gob the black goo on. Avoid spraying the electrical contact area of the post and terminals.

The go spray the battery side of the battery tray, the hold down except for the threads. Let the goo on the battery posts dry overnight then spray them a second time. You aren't screwing around here. This is a one-shot forever seal.

Let everything dry. USE SARAN WRAP as an overlay atop the battery tray to prevent the battery from sticking to the asphalt spray. Assemble the batteries to the tray.

Reconnect the battery wires.

Then spray the livin' bejeezus out of the assembled terminals with a good terminal corrosion spray like LPS-3, GM aerosol corrosion inhibitor or a CRC spray corrosion inhibitor that is sort of hard to find. NoCo spray corrosion inhibitor can also be used. I now use a product from allbatterysales.com that has a corrosion neutralizer built right into it. It dries to a waxy film.

I also treat new or cleaned battery charger clips with corrosion inhibitor.

I don't give a hoot how bad your batteries may become. They can go bad and boil. they can upchuck and throw a hissy fit. They can do whatever they want but those battery posts and battery cable terminals will sit back and have a good laugh. They aren't going to corrode for a decade or maybe two or until the corrosion compound gets washed off.

[2oldman]

teksavy wrote:
I was thinking I would get a new AGM battery setup, but I have read a lot of mixed reviews.d

I have agms in my tv and RV. Love 'em. If you want to get rid of maintenance and corrosion, get some.

[doughere]

I wouldn't get new batteries until you've checked the convertor output; it might be the root problem. Clean up the terminals. I would make sure everything's set to go and then see if there is a problem with the battery; can your battery supplier do a load check; maybe they're OK.

GC-2 is a generic term: Usually refers to something based on the Trojan T-105; 6 V, 220 AH range. Lots of opinions on which is best, they're all pretty much the same (my 6 year old no-name specials are doing just fine).

Doug

[teksavy]

WOW!

Thank you everyone for the very helpful and timely responses! I really appreciate it.

I guess I'll get new batteries and start fresh. I don't know if my inverter/charger is a 3 stage or not. I'll have to take a look at what make/model I have- since it came with the Forest River manufacturer, I'm sure it isn't the best.

I see several mentions of a GC-2 battery. I assume this is a generic descriptor for a golf cart battery and not a particular make/model of battery?

I was thinking I would get a new AGM battery setup, but I have read a lot of mixed reviews. Basically the take-away seemed to be that the lead-acid seemed to be more forgiving and "just work".

What do you think?

-Ed

[wa8yxm]

The recommendation is monthly inspection and clean as needed, at least 2x a year. There are chemical washers and sprays which will REDUCE it a bit but none that will stop it that I have ever found (Never tried the flex seal products though).

I also would not recommend the charger he recommended.. I would recommend a good 3+ stage smart converter, such as the already recommended PDI 9200 line (For a pair of six volt GC-2's in a trailer a 9260 is best, in a motor home with a BIRD isolator system 9280) What do I use, a PDI 9180 with charge wizard (Which makes it a 9280)... When I got the motor home I did a lot, and I mean a LOT of research into converters.. NONE better. (Some as good, none better).